Lovin'Seddie 20 Word Challenge
by Jay Petrakis
Summary: Compilation of Seddie one-shots. UPDATE 022715- #17 Water: Sam just groaned. She knew how adamant Carly was by the look on her face and knew that no tantrum was big enough to sway Carly from her decision. This summer, iCarly was hitting the beach.
1. Shells

**Author's Note: 20 Word Challenge; Short but just as effective and fun as a 100 Word Challenge. Plus, I can actually finish this challenge! hah.

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**Shells

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It was early one morning and Freddie decided he would visit his two favorite girls next door. He knocked on the door and entered, as the door was unlocked. As soon as he walked in a certain blonde caught his eye. Sam had a napkin bib stuffed in the collar of her shirt, and she was whacking what looked like shellfish with a meat tenderizer.

"What are you doing?" Freddie asked, somewhat mortified by what the blonde was doing.

Sam just looked up at Freddie and scoffed. "Eating lunch. Is that OK? Or is it not lunchtime yet?"

"It's 9:30 in the morning."

"Eh."

"You're eating crabs?" Freddie asked, inspecting the pile of shellfish.

Sam grinned, smashing another bunch of crabs with the hammer. "Crabs, lobsters, shrimp... Anything with a shell."

Freddie inspected the pile more closely. "It looks like it's mostly crabs."

"Turtles also have shells."

Freddie ignored that last comment. "How did you get crabs?"

"That's what she said."

Freddie also ignored that comment. "Where did you even get crabs from?" Freddie looked at the pile of crabs suspiciously. He could've sworn he saw one move.

"From a guy in front of the building, on the corner."

"Okay, so you bought crabs from like, a guy at a stand?"

Sam picked up a piece of crab and gnawed on it. "No, I bought crabs from like, a guy in a truck."

"Like, a lunch truck?" Freddie plopped himself on the couch, watching Sam engorge herself on the pile of crabs.

"Like, a pickup truck." Sam replied, mocking Freddie's speech.

"Wow, so you bought crabs from a total stranger in a pickup truck without any concern for food-borne illnesses?" Freddie reprimanded, knowing the blonde was never cautious when it came to the safety of her foods. Sam just shrugged, not a care in the world. She brought the meat tenderizer down hard on the pile of crabs, cracking open another one. "I think you've smashed them enough- You're getting pieces of shell and meat everywhere!"

"Okay well, it's still alive."

Freddie jumped off the couch and stood to his feet in fright. "Oh my god, you brought live crabs into the apartment?"

"I'm not going to eat _these_ by myself_ outside_." Sam argued, picking up a plastic bag which apparently contained more crabs. She picked the bag up upside-down, releasing all the live crabs onto the floor. "Oops."

"Oh my god! They're crawling everywhere!" Freddie squealed, jumped back onto the couch, safe from the "dangers" that now crawled all over the floor. Sam also got to her feet, not knowing what to do about this predicament. "Sam! Do something!"

Sam threw the small meat tenderizer away and picked up one of Spencer's sledgehammers and began killing the crabs, one by one. Somewhere along the way, Freddie also grabbed a sledgehammer and began killing innocent crabs, smashing and spraying meat and shell all over the apartment walls.

Carly entered the front door of the apartment, shrieking as she laid her eyes upon the mess in the living room. "What the heck happened here?"

"Um..." Freddie was at a lost for words.

Sam smiled the most innocent smile ever, trying to con her way out of getting in trouble with the angry brunette. "….. Shell?" Sam asked, holding up a dismembered crab leg.

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**Closing A/N: Okay, so if you know where I ripped this story idea off from, you're awesome. If you don't, then you're missing out. lol**


	2. Bacon

**Author's Note: Thanks to felicarlyia, icecoffee18, and Lovin'Seddie for the reviews :)**

**Disclaimer: I do nay own iCarly, for it belongs to Schneider's Bakery, Viacom, and Nickelodeon.

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**Bacon

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"Alright, eat up. Food's ready." Spencer carefully scrapped the food of his frying pan and placed it onto a plate. Carly grabbed the plate from him, setting it in the center of the dining table.

Sam reached over the table to grab a morsel, but her hand was quickly slapped away by Carly. "Hey! What did I tell you about reaching over the table like that? And don't use your hands- Use a fork or something."

"Gee, sorry, _mom._" Sam grumbled, sitting back in her chair as Carly handed the plate of food to Sam. Lately, it had become somewhat routine for Sam to spend her Saturday mornings at the Shay's. They offered good food and excellent service, free of charge. Sam didn't like withholding her full eating power, but if having some manners at the dining table was the cost to free food, she would survive.

"And don't eat all of it this time- We do have other foods, too." Spencer called out from the stove, cracking a few eggs into his hot pan.

"But Momma loves her ham..." Sam said sadly, imagining the plate of ham on her plate instead.

Suddenly, there was a quick knock at the door followed by Freddie bursting in. "Buenas dias, ladies." Freddie greeted, pulling up a chair to the table. "... And Spencer." Spencer shot Freddie a look before tending back to his cooking food. "Ooh this spread looks tasty."

"Oh, pass the bacon!" Sam called out, reaching over the table again. Freddie quickly complied, knowing how important bacon was the fiery blonde.

"Figures _you'd_ want the bacon." Freddie scoffed as he watched Sam take more than 3 servings of bacon and placing it on her own plate. "Don't you ever get tired of bacon?"

Sam looked down at her full plate of bacon and ham. She shot back up, looking at the boyish brunette with a smile on her face. "Nope."

At the mention of bacon, Carly remembered something. "Hey." She called out to her two friends to get her attention.

Sam and Freddie both turned their heads to look at the sweet brunette, waiting for her to speak.

"Do you remember when Freddie brought you that bag of bacon that one day at school?"

Sam and Freddie turned their heads back to look at each other, trying to determine whether the other remembered that event.

Sam smirked, but looked back to Carly. "What about?"

Freddie also turned his attention back to Carly, confused as to why she suddenly brought this up. "Yea, what of it?"

"Well, I don't know- I just found it a little odd that Freddie would bring you a bag of bacon." Carly began, speaking to the dirty blonde. "I mean, you guys aren't ever nice to each other and Freddie_ never_ brings you bacon."

Sam understood what Carly said, so she turned to Freddie for an answer. "Well?"

"Well what?" Freddie asked, really not wanting to address the issue. "I just... I figured bringing Sam bacon would exempt me from a few punches from her."

Carly and Sam seemed to accept Freddie's answer, shrugging it off and proceeding to eat their breakfast. Carly dropped the question and began talking to Sam about her relatives that were apparently coming over for lunch that afternoon. Freddie breathed a sigh of relief, also digging into his own delicious platter of assorted meats.

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After the scrumptious morning meal and a few short hours of hanging out and watching Saturday morning cartoons, Carly had started getting ready for her relatives' arrival.

"You want us to leave, Carls?" Sam called out from the couch, looking to the busy brunette.

Carly didn't look up from whatever task she was doing in kitchen. "Um, yea, actually. Sorry to kick you guys out."

"It's not a problem." Freddie replied, standing up from the lounge chair he was sitting in. Sam also followed suit and stood up, the two saying goodbye as they exited the apartment. Sam closed the door behind her, turning to face her other best friend.

"So..." Sam started.

"I'm just gonna go home and do some technical work on the show."

"Of course. Leave a nub to do 'nub things' I guess." Sam rolled her eyes. She took one step towards the hallway, but stopped in her tracks, calling out to the boyish brunette. "Wait- I wanted to ask you,"

"Yeah?" Freddie asked, taking out his keys.  
"What was up with that bacon?"

"What bacon?"

"The bacon you brought me that day." Sam clarified.

Freddie was a little taken aback. He thought they already covered this. "We already went over this, Sam. It was so you wouldn't hurt me. A peace offering, if you will."

"Cut the chiz, Benson. Carly might not be able to tell when you're lying, but I can read you like a book." Sam retorted, shifting her stance, arms folded. "Tell me the truth."

Freddie sighed, exasperated, rolling his eyes. "Sam..."

"Don't 'Sam...' me; What were your real intentions behind your bacon?"

"I just wanted to do something nice for you!" Freddie almost shouted, his expression visibly angry.

Sam was dumbstruck. She just stared at Freddie and replayed what he just said in her head. "... Something nice?" Sam squeaked. "...For me?"

Freddie simply nodded.

A grin grew on Sam's face as she looked up at the boy who supposedly wanted to do something nice for her. She quickly placed a peck on Freddie's cheek, looking away from Freddie's shocked gaze. She mumbled something under her breath, too soft for Freddie to hear.

"W-What?" Freddie croaked, his cheek tingling.

"I said, 'you're sweet'!" Sam yelled, storming off down the hallway to the elevator. Freddie brought his hand up to his tingling cheek, a goofy grin forming on his face.

Maybe he would bring Sam bacon more often.

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**Author's Note: Nyuk nyuk nyuk~ :P**


	3. Run

**Author's Note: No reviews this time around to thank for; But thank you to xemilyem42x, xNomii, and jodiemae for the follows and/or favorites. :)**

**Disclaimer: iCarly and all its characters copyrighted to Schneider's Bakery, Viacom, and Nickelodeon. **

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**Run**

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"_A 30 day challenge?"_

"_Yeah, you said you wanted to get fit, so start small. Go running for a half-hour everyday for a month. You've never really worked out before, so just running is a good start. Then after a month you can start coming to the gym with me and Duke to life weights."_

"_Where would I run? I don't own a treadmill."_

"_I don't know... Just run on the streets and go around the block or something. But you need to run for at least fifteen to thirty minutes straight. Otherwise it doesn't do anything."_

"_Around the streets? That's way too embarrassing for me."  
"Then go before sunrise. There's hardly anyone walking around before the sun's up."_

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Freddie didn't really want to running, but he made a promise to himself that starting sophomore year, he'd get more in shape. He only had a few athletic friend, Duke Habberman and his circle of wrestling teammates. Freddie was really only acquaintances with them, but he really wanted to start getting fit.

Freddie slipped on a sweatshirt and checked his wristwatch for the time. He pulled a small white towel off the counter and slipped it into his sweatshirt pocket.

_5:30 am._ Freddie thought, tightening the laces on his athletic shoes. He had made a plan the previous night to run east across Kennedy Square to the small park that sat on the hill above.

He left through the elevator, Lewbert not even present that early in the morning to give Freddie any grief.

Freddie began his run, starting at a slow pace. The brisk morning air seeped through his sweatshirt, the cool air feeling nice as sweat beads trickled down his forehead. Freddie steadily jogged past the few elderlies that walked the streets this early in the morning, a few opening up corner stores and food stands. Freddie took in his surroundings, amazed at the differences between midday and early morning. He looked up at the sky, a pale blue with a tint of orange near the horizon. The view was magnificent.

The sights were a wonder to Freddie, his amazement in his surroundings distracted him long enough to not even notice the slight pain in the side of his stomach from running. He stopped at the edge of Kennedy Square, catching his breath. He looked up towards the park, which harbored no inhabitants. Not even any lowly hobos were asleep in the park, something that struck Freddie as odd.

Freddie decided to investigate and explore. He walked slowly through the park, and saw that he was mistaken. There _was_ someone in the park- A familiar someone. He looked towards the tallest hill in the park, one lonely tree stood upon it. Under the tree, a humble park bench, turned east, overlooked the park along with the rest of the city. And upon that tree, sat one very special blonde.

_Sam?_ Freddie did a double-take. Was this the Sam Puckett he was so used to seeing beat him up every day? He looked again closer this time, and he confirmed it with himself. This was _the_ Sam Puckett, looking so serene and peaceful. Freddie always thought of Sam as a lazy slacker who wouldn't be up til' noon on a weekend.

Freddie ducked behind a shrub before Sam could notice him, and he jogged back home. He figured any conversation with Sam this early in the morning could very well result in a beating. Freddie didn't want to take that chance.

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Freddie continued his daily runs to the park every day for a week, and every day he saw Sam sitting on that same park bench. He never built up the courage to go approach her and he wasn't sure if she saw him or not. On some days he hid behind the same shrub and waited for something happen. On Friday, he waited for an hour, thinking maybe she would meet with some dealer and buy some sort of contraband from a sketchy guy. No such person showed up. All Sam did was supposedly sit on that park bench for hours, then leave. This puzzled Freddie.

On the second week of his running challenge, Freddie decided leaving a little earlier to see exactly what time Sam got to the park. He jogged to the park and saw her there again, in that same spot. This time, however, he jogged up the hill and greeted Sam.

"Sam."

Sam looked up at the brunette and was a little surprised to see him. "Hey, Fredlumps. What're you doing here so early in the morning?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Freddie said between breaths, swallowing a lump in his throat. He was a little winded and he had a little trouble catching his breath.

"Whoa, you look like you just ran all the way from your apartment or something." Sam joked.

"I did."  
Sam was once again surprised. She reached into her purse and pulled out a half-empty water bottle, offering it to Freddie. He gladly accepting, sipping the tepid water. "So what're you doing anyway? I never see you running around these parts this early in the morning."

"I'm doing a fitness challenge sort of thing." Freddie explained, planting his tired butt on the park bench. He pulled out his towel and wiped the sweat off his brow. "I run from my apartment to this park and back."

"Oh. Weird." Sam retorted. "Why do you want to get in shape, anyway?"

Freddie shrugged his shoulders. The reasons for wanting to be healthy never really occurred to him. "Just want to get in shape. So what's your reason for being here?"

Sam just pointed towards the horizon. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, behind a few of Seattle's skyscrapers. The dark sky slowly became illuminated with a radiant colors as the sun slowly crept its way towards the sky. Freddie sat and watched along with Sam in silence, taking in the breath-taking view. Before he could realize it, Freddie had sat on that park bench for a good half-hour. As soon as the sun had completely risen into the sky, he began talking again.

"You come out this early in the morning just to watch the sunrise?" Freddie asked.

"Yep. It reminds me of a simpler, happier time." Sam simply replies. "My dad and I used to watch sunrises together when I was a kid."

Freddie understood immediately. The memories of a lost and sometimes forgotten parent were precious to any child. He secretly wished he had precious memories of his own father. He stood up from the park bench and looked back towards Kennedy Square.

"You coming back tomorrow?" Sam asked, before Freddie could leave. Freddie smiled and nodded at Sam, before running back home.

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**Author's Note: Reviews/Follows/Favorites are highly appreciated. Have a great day and know you are blessed! ;)**


	4. Hot

**20 Word Seddie Challenge: Hot**

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"_You look pretty hot tonight."_

Melanie was flattered when Freddie, the cute tech-boy from iCarly, called her cute. However she was a little disappointed that he still thought she was actually Sam, her twin.

It wasn't until the time after that when she came to visit, that she saw Freddie and Sam were closer than she initially thought. They would go back-and-forth with one another, teasing each other with names and insults. Most assumed the two hated the other, but Melanie could see the smile on her sister's face.

The two slept over at Carly's one night and Melanie asked Carly about once Sam was asleep.

"What's up with Freddie and my sister?" Melanie asked, lying in her sleeping bag.

"What do you mean, 'what's up with them'?" Carly answered back. Melanie could see Carly was undoubtedly fooled by Freddie and Sam's ploy to mask their true feelings, even from their closest of friends.

"Don't you ever feel like there's something between those two?"

"Something?" Carly sat upright to see Melanie better.

Melanie looked over to Carly and also sat upright in her sleeping bag and glanced over at the sleeping Sam, sawing logs. "Like, do you ever feel like they might like each other?"

Carly almost burst out laughing. She caught herself and slammed both her hands over her mouth. "You must be joking!" Carly whispered loudly, removing her hands from her face. "Sam and Freddie are friends, but I really doubt they like each other _that _way."

Melanie pouted, looking at her peacefully sleeping sister. "I don't know... I'm not convinced."

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The next day, Melanie gently woke Sam up. It was already nearing noon and Sam was the only one not awake yet.

"Sam... Sammy?" Melanie cooed, softly shaking her sister awake.

"Mel?" groaned Sam, pulling the covers over her head. "Go away, I'm still tired."

"I need your help, Sam, in pulling a prank."

This perked Sam's interest. Her eyes shot open and she bolted upright. "A prank? Who for?"

"Remember how when I visited back in 9th grade, Freddie thought I was you in disguise? Well, I was thinking, let's continue that prank!"

Sam rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and got out of her sleeping bag. "What're you talking about, Mel? Freddie's already seen the both of us, he knows we're two people."

"I _mean_, you should act like me and I'll act like you! C'mon, I really want to pull this prank, Sam."

Sam dragged her feet across the floor and sighed. The prank _did _sound pretty fun to her. "Alright. But you're doing all the planning, I don't want to do anything that requires effort."

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One blonde-headed twin waltzed down the stairs of the Shay apartment and scanned the room. "Mornin', Carls. Dishrag."

"Ugh. I see you're finally up," Freddie grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Not exactly morning anymore, by the way." Carly quickly pulled the blonde into the kitchen and started whispering.

"Melanie? What are you doing?" Unlike Freddie, Carly could tell which twin was which, even with their clothes and mannerisms changed. After all, Sam _was_ Carly's best friend.

"_Shh!_ Me and Sam are playing a prank on Freddie!" Melanie giggled, whispering to the brunette. Just then, soft footsteps could be heard, descending down the stairs.

"Hey, Carly, Sam, Freddie, " Sam chirped, wearing something far more girly than she's usually wear. "What's the plan for today?"

Freddie turned his head and laid his eyes on the "prettier" twin, a grin forming on his face. He turned back to the brash twin, still hanging back in the kitchen. "Why can't you be polite like that?"

Before Melanie had a chance to reply, Carly stepped in to answer Sam's question. "Shopping, probably. They opened up a new wing to the mall and _Sam_ and I were talking about going down there to check it out."

"Sure."

"Freddie, do you want to come with us? We're going to catch lunch before we go shopping." Carly offered.

"Yeah, sure. There's supposedly a new tech store that opened in the new wing." Freddie answered, grabbing his coat. The four ate lunch at "The D's", but something seemed a bit unusual to Freddie. Sam was a bit more reserved than usual, more polite. Usually Sam would've pulled out one of her juvie stories this far into the conversation by now, but she hadn't. She merely kept to Carly's speed of the conversation, giving a little input here and there. For some reason, this unsettled Freddie. He turned to look at Melanie, who was eating away at some chicken nuggets. The way she ate was somewhat polite and mannered, but Freddie noticed she had the appetite of large bear. Something was definitely amiss with those two.

"Sam," Freddie called out. Melanie perked up at the name and she arched her eyebrows in curiosity.

"W-Whaddaya want, Fredweird?" There was a slight hesitation in Melanie's response and she hoped Freddie didn't notice it.

"You're hardly eating today. Usually you order two value meals. You're only eating a small kids meal." Freddie pointed out. "What's going on?" Sam looked over to Melanie, chewing on her remaining chicken nuggets. Sam could see the slight panic in Melanie's eyes and it was cute to Sam. Melanie never really was cut out for pranks.

"Freddie, what's with all the questions?" Sam asked, in the most cheerful, girly-sounding voice possible. "You're making _Sam_ nervous."

"Um, I need to go to the bathroom. _Mel,_ come with me." Melanie urged, getting up from her seat. Sam quickly followed Melanie to the bathroom, leaving a very awkward air between Carly and Freddie.

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"You almost choked out there, Mel. You want to switch back?" Sam asked, looking into the mirror and picking some chicken nugget out of her teeth. "I'm getting pretty bored with this prank, anyway. Nothing's fun happened so far."

"No!" Melanie exclaimed. "I want to be the prankster for once."

"Well, there's no doubt the butt-munch is getting suspicious."

"Then do something I would do!" Melanie almost shouted. "I mean, something that only I would do, not you." Melanie clarified.

"Something you would do...?"

"I know! Ask Freddie on a date!"

Sam stood speechless.

"It won't be that bad; It'll be just like hanging out with him and Carly, just, Carly won't be there." Melanie reasoned.

"I don't want to go on a date with the nub!"

Melanie pulled her trump card. "He'll pay for everything... Including food."

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Sam and Melanie returned back from the bathroom and Freddie eyed the twins suspiciously.

"You alright?" Freddie asked.

"I'm fine, nub."

Freddie rolled his eyes. "I was just asking, geez." He then turned to the blonde with the ponytail. "How 'bout you?"  
Sam stood silent for a short moment, but gathered what courage she had to open her mouth and start talking. "I'm fine, Freddie, thanks. Y'know, I was wondering- While Carly and _Sam_ are off at the mall shopping, how'd you like to go out on a date with me?"

Both Freddie's and Carly's eyebrows arched in surprise. Freddie was taken aback and he looked over to "Sam". This time it wasn't Melanie-who-was-actually-Sam that he was going on a date with; This was actually Melanie. "Uhm, uh, sure? I mean, if you want to?"

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When the four arrived at the mall, the two girls left to do some shopping and the other two were left standing in the middle of the mall. Freddie looked over to the blonde and shrugged his shoulders. "Want to check out the tech store?"

Sam would rather jump off a bridge than spend her day at some nerdy computer base. She forced a smile. "..._ Sure._"

To Sam's surprise, the date was better than she had initially thought. They only spent maybe fifteen minutes at the most at the tech store, Freddie calling the merchandise "outdated" and "nothing new". With the disappointment of the new tech store bringing Freddie down, Sam decided getting a treat was probably for the better. The two stopped at a Pink Bunny, a frozen yogurt shop. Sam also decided since the new tech store was such a letdown for Freddie, that she would pay for his yogurt. Besides, after all the smoothies he's bought for her before, she could treat him at least once. "You got me the pomegranate with raspberries and chocolate shavings? How'd you know what my favorite flavors are?"

_Oh crap._ Melanie supposedly doesn't know that much about Freddie. "Um, I sort of figured." Sam lied.

Freddie decided not to press for questions and just accept the free fro-yo.

"So, Melanie, what made you want to ask me out on a date?"

_I didn't._ "I uh, I didn't want you to be alone, hanging around the mall while the girls were off doing 'girl things'." Sam retorted.

Freddie chuckled. "Somehow, I can't picture Sam doing 'girl things'." Freddie gestured air quotes with his fingers.

Sam thought this would be a great opportunity to use this prank to her advantage. "What _do_ you picture Sam doing? At the mall, I mean."

Freddie just shrugged. "I don't know, maybe playing video games at the arcade, buying some beef jerky? That's usually what she does when she comes to the mall. That, or she gets dragged along with Carly to some girly place like 'Build-A-Bra' or maybe 'Mercedes Lens'."

"Geez, you sound like some kind of stalker." Sam laughed. "You following me around or something, nub?"

Freddie just froze, his eyes wide open as he looked at "Melanie". A smile began forming on his face and Sam quickly became aware of her mistake. "I sound like a stalker?" Freddie questioned, leaning over to get a better look at the blonde twin. "Well, you sound like Sam... _Melanie._"

Sam only managed to stutter a few consonants.

"So you thought dressing up as Melanie would be fun for ol' gullible Freddie, hm?" Freddie moved even closer to the panicking blonde. "Thought maybe you could ask me on a date? What's going on, Sam? Suddenly got the hots for me?"

The last sentence Freddie uttered snapped Sam out of her daze. "Ew, gross. Maybe in your dreams, Freddenstein. I only did this prank cuz Melanie begged me. There's no way I'd suddenly get the hots for a nerdy nub like you."

Freddie just smirked. "You ain't foolin' anyone, Puckett."

Sam blushed three shades of red. From either embarrassment or anger, no one would know. "Shut up, Benson, before I put my fist through your face."

Freddie backed off with a slight laugh. "Alright alright, I'll lay off." He sat back in his chair and eyed Sam once more before opening his mouth one last time. "You look pretty hot."

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**Author's Note: Does it still count as drabble if it's this long? haha oh well, whatever. :P**


	5. Sneakers

**Author's Note: "Sneakers" is such a random topic. I had a hard time coming up with this one haha. Hope y'all like it. :)**

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**Sneakers**

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"She doesn't want me to continue seeing you. She's being pretty persistent."

"Since when do you listen to the crazy jabber that comes outta your nutloaf mom's mouth?"

"True, but she's making some pretty drastic threats, telling me she'll make me switch schools."

"No way! That's _so _not right. It's not like we're shackin' up or nothin'."

"Still, I think we should lay low for a little while."

"No! I like being with you."

"I like being with you, too." A short pause. "Kiss me."  
"Kiss you? But how? We're talking on the phone."

"If you do it with love, I'll feel it."

Sam blushed three shades of pink as she gently pressed her lips against the receiver of her phone.

Suddenly, her mother came bounding into the room at full speed. "Are you on the phone with that punk again?"

Sam quickly hid her phone under the covers of her bed, shaking her head in response. "No! I wasn't, I swear!"

"I told you to stay away from that boy! I don't need you comin' home tellin' me all of a sudden that you're pregnant! We have enough mouths to feed in this house!" Sam's mother, Pam Puckett, was a small woman but could hold her own ground against any enemy. She could very well hold her place as Sam's mom, being even more aggressive and persistent than her own daughter.

"Mom! Freddie and I aren't doing stuff like that, gross."

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry! Now go on down to the grocery store and buy us some ham. We've run out." Sam's mom ordered, throwing a few dollar bills to the floor before storming out of the room.

Sam sighed of relief as she plopped onto her bed and reached under the covers for her cell phone. The line was still connected. She put the phone to her ear and grinned.

"See you in ten minutes?"

"You know it, Benson." Sam hung up the phone and dashed out of the house, pockets full of cash and her heart full of passion.

* * *

Four and a half minutes later, Sam reached the grocery store. It was smack-dab in the middle of Sam's house and Freddie's house and was treated as the perfect meeting place for the two star-crossed lovers to meet. Sam arrived, out of breath, having sprinted the entire way there. She quickly took a look around the street to see if her other half had arrived.

"Surprise." A voice whispered in her ear. Sam jumped as she playfully punched the tall brunette that scared her.

"You nub, don't scare me like that!" laughed Sam, throwing her arms around Freddie Benson. "I'm surprised you got out of the house so easily. Isn't your crazy mom watching you like a hawk?"

Freddie laughed as he started walking away from the grocery store, hand-in-hand with Sam. "She went out, luckily. I managed to sneak out while she was gone."

The two walked down the night-lit city streets, the rows of streetlights guiding their path. Where the two were going didn't matter to them, so long as they were together.

"Look up there." Sam pointed up, towards the power lines. On top of the power lines, a pair of ratty blue sneakers dangled, in plain sight.

"What is that?"

"Sneakers. People tie them together and throw 'em over the power lines to signify a meeting place. Usually a place for junkies to meet up with pushers." Sam explains.

"Sounds criminal." Freddie gulped, moving at a quicker pace away from the sneakers.

Sam just laughed.

* * *

The two ended up walking all the way back to Bushwell Plaza, hiding out in Carly's loft.

"You guys can't keep hiding out in here. Freddie, your mom's already mad at me and Sam, so is yours." Carly complained, but still let her friends hog her couch.

"Don't worry about it, Carls. We'll be sneaky."

Carly just groaned, retreating upstairs to her room.

"Now where were we?" Sam grinned, pulling Freddie in for a kiss. Just as their lips touched, there was an abrupt pounding at the door followed by a screaming voice.

"Freddie Benson! I know you're in there with that... That _skunkbag_!"

"Aw chiz, it's my mom!" Freddie exclaimed, scrambling for the back door. Sam followed suit and followed him out the back, galloping down the stairs. "Listen, when we get down to the lobby, you make a run for your house and I'll just hide out at Gibby's or something until my mom-" Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs and into the main lobby, there stood a short-haired blonde woman standing at the door, eyes ablaze.

"Samanatha Puckett! You are in a helluva lotta trouble, young lady!"

"Oh jeez, it's _my_ mom!" Sam exclaimed, backing up into the front desk, fearful of her mother. Suddenly, Freddie's mom came bursting into the lobby from the elevators. The two mothers locked eyes and glared at one another.

"Keep your little skunkbag of a daughter away from my Freddiekins!" Mrs. Benson screamed, grabbing her son and pulling him away.

"Skunkbag? Who're you calling a skunkbag, you nutloaf?" retorted Mrs. Puckett. "Keep your punk-nosed brat-of-a-son away from my little girl!" Mrs. Puckett also grabbed ahold of her kin, pulling her to the exit.

"Sam!" Freddie called out, being dragged away to the elevators.

"Freddie!" Sam called back, as the doors swung shut, leaving the two separated once more.

* * *

Sam lay on her bed, alone. The cold bedsheets were like a mockery to loneliness, no warmth from anyone else. She tossed and turned as the streetlights served as the only light source in the room. Sam stared at her phone, hoping that by chance, she would get a phone call or text message from Freddie.

_"He probably had his phone taken away by his psycho mom."_

Sam set her phone down on the bedside table and closed her eyes. Maybe the next day would fare better. A quiet chime filled the silence of the room, followed by a purple light flashing. Sam looked to see her phone had lit up.

_"A text message?"_

Sam quickly flipped open her phone to see she had just gotten a new picture message. She opened it and the picture attached was of some purple sneakers, tied up on some power the picture was a message.

_Took this photo on the corner of Smith and 5th. This'll be our new spot, under the sneakers. Come find me tomorrow night. ;)_

A big smile grew on Sam's face, for she knew that the meeting place beneath the hanging purple sneakers would be their own secret meeting place, where _no one_ would be able to find them.


	6. Paper

**Author's Note: Disclaimer; the poems written in this fanfiction were not written by me and thus do not belong to me. They will be cited at the end of the chapter.**

**Enjoy. :)  
**

* * *

**Paper**

* * *

Freddie casually walked down the hallway, just getting out of class. The school halls were full of bustling students, conversing amongst themselves before getting ready for their next classes.

Freddie walked to his locker and knelt down to take his books for his next class. He shuffled through some loose papers and grabbed his Calculus book, not before putting away his books from his previous class.

"Hey, watch it, punk!"

Freddie averted his attention from his locker to the sudden outburst, a familiar blonde scrambling to collect a bunch of papers scattered across the hallway floor. He walked over to the blonde and picked up a few of the scattered papers, handing them to her.

"Clumsy much, Puckett?" Freddie joked, smiling at the blonde.

"Shut it, Benson. Some punk freshman bumped into me." Sam retorted, gathering all her papers and stuffing them into her backpack.

"What are these papers for, anyway? You never write anything for any class." Freddie said, picking up a lone paper, lying on the floor.

_What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,  
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain  
Under my head till morning; but the rain-_

"Don't read my stuff!" Sam shouted, snatching the paper away from Freddie before he could read the entire piece.

"Was that a poem?" Freddie questioned, almost skeptical. "_You _write poetry?"

Sam ignored Freddie, stuffing the remaining papers into her backpack before turning heel. "Go to class, Fredwad."

* * *

After the remainder of morning classes, Freddie made his way to the cafeteria and stood in the doorway. He scanned the room and saw his two female friends sitting at a table. One was taking a bite out of a banana while the other was scribbling something on a piece of paper.

_Sam never writes anything._ Freddie thought to himself, finding it quite odd for the blonde to even have a pen in her hand. The brunette sitting at the table looked up and locked eyes with Freddie. She quickly mumbled something to her blonde friend, no doubt alerting her of Freddie's presence.

Freddie walked over as Sam shuffled her papers into her backpack, making it seem as if she had not been writing.

"Hey girls." Freddie greeting, sitting down across from them.

"Yo, Fredday."

Freddie gestured to Sam's backpack. "What were you writing? More poems?"

"Nunya biz-chiz, Benson."

Carly decided to quickly change the subject. "You coming with us to Groovy's after-school, Freddie?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess." Freddie replied, still thinking about the poems Sam wrote. He took out his sack lunch from his backpack and revealed a quite large orange.

"Holy chiz, that is a _huge_ orange." Sam commented, looking in awe upon the large citrus fruit.

"My mom says I need to eat more fruit."

"I thought your mom thinks you're allergic to fruit?"

"Yeah, no. She thinks I'm allergic to cheese now, though." Freddie replied, showing that his packaged Ham & Cheese sandwich was missing its cheese. The three laughed as they ate their lunch together, Freddie sharing his large orange with the two girls.

* * *

The school bell rang loudly, students pouring out the exit of the school. School was finally out.

Sam slowly exited her last class, looking in joy at her latest produced work. She looked at the lone piece of paper and grinned, satisfied. She quickly stuffed it into her backpack, with the rest of her loose papers.

She approached and opened her locker, only to have a folded piece of paper fall to the floor. Sam never got notes from anyone. Ever.  
Sam picked up the paper and slowly unfolded it, reading the typed words carefully.

_At lunchtime I bought a huge orange;  
The size of it made us all laugh.  
I peeled it and shared it with Carly and Sam;  
They got quarters and I got a half._

_And that orange, it made me so happy,  
As ordinary things often do  
Just lately. They chilling. A walk in the park.  
This peace and contentment. It's new._

_The rest of the day was quite easy.  
I did all the jobs on my list  
And enjoyed them and had some time over.  
I love you. I'm glad you exist._

At the bottom of the paper was a written sentence with a doodled smiley face and Sam recognized the handwriting.

_"I can write poetry, too."_

Sam refolded the paper and rummaged through her backpack, going past all her loose and crumpled papers. She pulled out a portfolio and neatly placed the folded paper into the portfolio, safe from harm.

This paper was special.

* * *

**Author's Note: The first poem is an excerpt from the poem "Sonnet XLIII" written by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It's a love poem that I really like. The second poem is titled "The Orange" (I changed a few words, such as the names) by Wendy Cope. A very cute and simple love poem. Both were found in the book Good Poems, which is a assortment of poems selected and introduced by Garrison Keillor.**


	7. Sunrise

**Author's Note: A very short one, sequel to my third one-shot in this story collection, "Run".**

* * *

**Sunrise**

* * *

Sam walked to the park every morning to watch the sunrise. The sun would shine behind Seattle's buildings, lighting up the sky. It truly was a marvelous thing to see. But Sam often longed to see a sunrise peak over the horizon, with no buildings to block the view.

"_You're sleeping over at Carly's tonight?"_

"_Yeah, what of it, Benson?"_

"_Are you going to walk to the park to watch the sunrise?"_

"_Yeah. Are you still running to the park?"_

"_Mm-hmm. Can I come with you?"_

"_I don't really feel like running, or exerting any type of energy, for that matter."_

"_You don't have to run."_

"_Alright, I suppose."_

Sam remembered the conversation she had with Freddie the previous day and she was intent on keeping her word. She walked down the stairs quietly, careful not to wake up either Carly or Spencer. She glanced at the clock which read a few minutes past six. It would be cutting it pretty close. Sam slipped on her converse and opened to door to see Freddie, dressed and ready, waiting for her.

"Hey. I want to take you somewhere different to watch the sunrise." Freddie said, a smile on his face.

"Someplace different?" Sam questioned. "Why? What's wrong with the park we go to now?"

"The buildings block the way. C'mon."

Although reluctant, Sam followed Freddie to the elevators. He pushed the button and the two stepped in. "We're going to have to hurry, sunrise is in only 15 minutes." Sam then noticed something peculiar. "What's going on, Benson? This elevator is going up." Sam said, noticing the numbers on the digital display were getting higher.

"I know."

The numbers climbed all the way into the high twenties before the doors slowly opened, revealing the roof of Bushwell Plaza.

"Whoa. I've never been on the roof of this place before." Sam commented, looking around at the spacious area. There were a few benches and umbrellas placed around and Freddie took a seat on the bench sitting on the east side of the building.

Freddie glanced at his watch. "6:29am," Freddie stated. "Almost time for the sunrise."

"You can see everything from here; The mountains, the Space Needle... Everything!" Sam exclaimed, a little excited. "I've never seen the sunrise from so high up before."

"Well, there's a first for everything." Freddie smiled. Sam smiled back, sitting down next to Freddie. She rested her head on his shoulder, still sleepy. She made sure to keep her eyes open to watch the sunrise. The dark sky filled with an splash of orange as the sun peaked over the mountains. The sun climbed its way into the middle of the sky, illuminating the city with its radiance. Sam relieved the weight off Freddie's shoulder and smiled at him.

"Thanks for this, Freddie. It was nice."

"Well, I love sunrises." Freddie replied, looking into Sam's eyes.

Sam returned Freddie's gaze, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones. "I love sunrises, too."


	8. Bugs

**Author's Note: Thanks so much for your guys' continued reviews! Reading them really makes me happy; I love hearing from you guys. :)**

* * *

**Bugs**

* * *

"**Ah-Choo!"**

_"So you caught the bug that's going around, too?"_

"Ugh," Freddie groaned, bringing his PearPhone back to his ear. "Yeah. I take it you're staying home, too?"

Sam, on the other side of the telephone line, coughed inbetween sentences. "Yeah, I figure skipping out on one more day wouldn't make much of a difference on my already failing report card."

"Freddie Benson! Who on earth are you talking to on the phone? You're going to strain your voice!" shrilled Freddie's mother, from down the hall. Freddie just groaned at his embarrassing mother, pulling the covers on his bed over his head.

"I'm talking to Sam, Mom! Butt out!" Freddie yelled back. "She's staying home sick from school, too!"

"_That your mom?"_ Sam questioned, her voice noticeably weaker than its usual upbeat tone. _"You're going to strain your voice yelling at that nutjob than talking with me."_

"Well, she's staying home from work to take care of me, so I can deal with her craziness for one day, at least." Freddie argued. Sam just chuckled. "Where's your mom?"

"_She passed out in the kitchen last night. She went to some party and came back late, hammered."_ Sam explained, as if this were typical behavior from her mother.

"What? So who's taking care of you while you're sick at home? Did you at least eat anything for breakfast?" Freddie asked, suddenly worried.

"_Relax, Benson. I had some ham for breakfast, so I'm all G." _Sam retorted, her snarky attitude surfacing. _"Momma can take care of herself. I got myself a plate of ham and a couple of fatcakes to hold me off for the rest of the day. Besides, Carls said she'd stop by after-school to take care of me, or whatever."_

"But that's more than six hours from now!" argued Freddie. "You _need_ someone at least able-bodied there to watch you."

Mrs. Benson stormed into Freddie's room and pulled the covers off of her son, revealing the pajama-garbed teenager. "Freddie Benson! I _told_ you to get off that phone! Don't make me force you!"

"Mom! Jeez, I'm cold! Don't pull the covers off like that!" Freddie complained, snatching the covers from his mother and covering his body. "I'm arguing with Sam because her mom's passed out and no one's there to watch her or anything."

At that moment, Mrs. Benson's motherly instincts surfaced. "No one's there to take care of Samantha? Well, I won't have that! You tell her we are going there this instant to pick her up!"

* * *

A short drive across town later, Mrs. Benson pulled up in her grey Prius to the beaten-down house of the Puckett's. The house was a small two-story building sitting on the humble edge of the suburban neighborhood. At first glance, it looked like a nice place to live, but upon closer inspection there were bullet holes in the side of the wall and some windows were even cracked open. On top of that, one side of the house had rotting wood on account of termites and rain damage. Mrs. Benson knew this was no place for a sick person to rest.

"Stay in the car, Freddie, dear. I'm going to get Samantha and then we'll head down to the clinic to get the two of you checked out."

Freddie was too tired and too light-headed to make any coherent response, but his groaning response was enough for his mother.

Mrs. Benson carefully walked up the steps to the front porch and knocked softly on the hardwood door. "Samantha?" Mrs. Benson called out.

There was no answer.

Mrs. Benson tried turning the doorknob and to her surprise, it was unlocked. She entered through the foyer and into the living room, where voices from a television could be heard. "Samantha?" Mrs. Benson tried calling out again.

Still no answer.

Mrs. Benson looked around the living room and saw a fleece throw draped sloppily on the couch, along with empty wrappers of fatcakes and crumpled up soda cans. Sam had definitely been there. Mrs. Benson turned off the playing television and walked into the hallway, where she saw a mess of clothing strung about throughout the hallway. Some obviously belonged to her mother, whereas others looked as if they belonged to Sam.

"Samantha?" Mrs. Benson repeated once more, hopeful to get a response this time around. She peeked her head into one of the rooms, the room Mrs. Benson guessed belonged to Sam, since there was a giant "Do Not Enter" sign taped to the front. There was still no response to Mrs. Benson's callings, but she found out why. She approached the small twin-sized bed, the sleeping teenage girl sprawled across the covers.

Mrs. Benson, a certified nurse, could immediately tell Samantha was much more sickly than her own son. Samantha was pale as a ghost and her breathing was shallow. "Samantha, dear? Are you asleep?" Mrs. Benson called, putting a hand on the girl's forehead. It was hot to the touch, a fever no doubt.

Sam sensed the presence of the other person in the room and opened her eyes wearily. She looked up at Mrs. Benson and then closed her eyes, going right back to sleep.

"...Tired." she moaned, not wanting to even acknowledge the woman. "Dizzy."

"Samantha, I'm here to take you to the doctor's. You're running a fever."

* * *

Mrs. Benson managed to carry Sam to the car and drove the two sick teens to Saint Schneider's Hospital. There were many sick people in the waiting area and Mrs. Benson was arguing with a nurse to let the two kids be admitted since they were very sick.

Freddie opened his eyes wearily and saw a sitting Sam, quietly sleeping next to him. "Sam?" he called out weakly. Sam opened her eyes slowly and turned to look at Freddie.

"You look like a bucket of chiz, Benson." Sam joked, which brought a slight grin to Freddie's face. Leave to Sam to joke around even if she's sick.

"So do you, Puckett." Freddie shot back, jokingly. He noticed his blanket was draped around his shoulders and his mother's jacket was draped around Sam's shoulders. She wrapped the jacket around her tighter, bringing her knees closer to her chest. "You cold?" Freddie asked.

"No, I just like looking like I'm cold." Sam retorted sarcastically, snarky as ever. Freddie rolled his eyes and scooted closer to Sam, draping half the blanket around her.

"Jeez, you're burning up." Freddie commented, wrapping his arms around her.

"You're one to talk. You're like an electric heater."

"I don't feel like one. I'm freakin' cold."

"Yea, no chiz, me too. Freezing my buns off." Sam agreed, allowing Freddie to get this close to her. She figured that because the both were so cold, they could benefit from one another. "I don't even remember the last time I felt this dizzy. Stupid bug."

"Yeah, same here..." Freddie replied wearily, his eyes getting heavy once more.

"Fredlumps?" Sam called, her eyes also fluttering shut. "You sleepin'?"

Freddie just groaned back his response as he leaned his head on Sam, drifting off to sleep. Sam found it oddly comfortable and nuzzled herself against Freddie's chest, letting herself drift to sleep as well.

* * *

Freddie felt a slight pang in his head and he quickly put a hand to his forehead to ease the pain. Freddie opened her mouth and slowly groaned, which only made the pain worse. He laid back down and realized he was no longer in the hospital waiting area. He was lying in a bed. His eyes still closed, too dizzy to open them, Freddie felt around for his bedsheets but instead came into contact with something warm. Freddie turned his head and looked to the side and saw his blonde-headed friend lying next to him.

"S-Sam?" Freddie stuttered, hoping he might just be dreaming. He quickly pinched himself but nothing happened. "Sam?" Freddie repeated, poking the girl's face. She twitched in her sleep and did not wake up.

Suddenly, Sam's phone, placed on Instead, she shifted on the bed and turned to face him. She let out a soft moan, which slightly excited Freddie. "Aw, jeez. Sam, wake up. Sam."

"Stupid... Bug." Sam groaned, furrowing her brow. Shifting again in her sleep, Freddie found that Sam's hands had moved onto his body.

_If she wakes up now, she'll definitely start whaling on me!_ Freddie began to panic, but knew if he got up now, he would most definitely wake Sam up. He decided that pretending to be asleep would be the better choice and closed his eyes. Having his eyes closed proved to be much more comfortable, especially with his headache.

"Oh well," Freddie said out loud, as if to no one in particular. "G'night."

"...'Night." Sam moaned back, talking in her sleep.

* * *

"I still can't believe you went over to Freddie's without telling me. I went over to your house and saw your mom passed out and you missing and I freaked out. You weren't answering your phone." Carly complaining, throwing her books into her locker.  
"Sorry, Carls." Sam coughed, also throwing her books in her locker. "I was like, out, for most of the day. I don't even remember much of what happened yesterday, other than me and Fredpus at the hospital."

"Do you remember me coming over?" Carly asked, taking a cough drop out of her purse and handing it to Sam.

Sam blinked, bewildered. "You came over to Freddie's last night?"

"Yeah, because he stayed home from school, too." Carly replied, with a smile on her face.

"What're you looking all smiley for?" Sam asked, popping the cough drop into her mouth.

"Oh, nothing." Carly grinned, closing her locker. "Freddie's still at home sick?"

"Yeah, guess he hasn't quite gotten over the bug that's been going around."

"That, or he caught a _new_ bug." Carly giggled.

"What the heck are you going on about now?" Sam badgered, closing her own locker. "Did something happen last night when you came over to Freddie's?"

"No, nothing at all." Carly replied, rather nonchalantly.  
"Whatever, Shay." Sam dismissed, walking down the hall to class.

Carly continued her giggling fit as she pulled out her phone and looked through her recently taken photos. She opened one photo in particular and pasted it onto a new photo message.

Carly looked over her picture message, the photo of her two best friends cuddling in bed together, along with her text message, and sent it to Freddie.

_You two look cute LOL Did you catch the love bug? :P_

_

* * *

_**Author's Note: Haha, cheesy! **


	9. Awkward

**Author's Note: I sort of half-assed the ending, but hopefully you'll still like it. Hah.**

* * *

**Awkward**

* * *

"You mind telling me exactly what's going on?"

"Nothing! Jeez, stop badgering me. _Nothing's_ going on, Carly. I swear."

Carly Shay and Sam Puckett both stood in front of their respective lockers, as the school bell rang throughout the halls, indicating that school was officially out.

"You've been acting weird _all week_, Sam. Now spill." Carly pestered, poking her best friend. "Is something going on at home or something? Do you need to hang out at my place for a while?"

Sam just shook her head. "No, nothing's going on at home, Carls. My mom is still her usual self. But I wouldn't mind taking you up on your offer to come over."

Carly just smiled, relieved that nothing was wrong with her friend. But it didn't excuse the fact that Sam was definitely acting weird. Carly looked to the side and saw her other iCarly co-worker and friend, Freddie Benson, leaving his locker.

"Freddie!" Carly called out, waving for him to join the two. "You coming with us to the Groovy Smoothie?"

Freddie glanced at Sam and nervously looked to the side. Sam did almost the same, but scoffed at him, as if she were almost annoyed by his very presence. "Uhm, I can't. I have a, um, an AV Club meeting I have to get to. Maybe some other time."

Carly exchanged looks between her two friends and crossed her arms. "Are you joking? That's like, the fourth AV Club meeting you've had this week! And it's only Wednesday."

Freddie just shrugged his shoulders, not able to give any other excuse. "Sam, can we please talk about this?"

"No, Frednub, we can't." Sam spat back.

"What's the deal, you two? You guys have been acting awkward all week. Did something happen?"

Freddie and Sam locked eyes; something that Carly hadn't seen them do in a while. Sam gave Freddie a knowing look, and then slammed her locker shut. "I got to go."

"Wait, Sam!" Carly called out, as Sam started walking towards the exit at a fast pace.

"I have to go, too." Freddie mumbled, walking in the opposite direction.

Carly just stood in front of her locker, baffled at what just happened.

"Something's definitely up with those two..."

* * *

The next day at school, all the students were very exciting for the upcoming four-day weekend.

"Oh man, I _love_ long weekends!" Sam cheered, throwing her books into her locker.

"Don't you need those to do homework?" Carly questioned, filling her own bag with the books she would need for the over-the-weekend homework.

Sam just scoffed, tossing her backpack over shoulder. "Yeah, that'll happen."

"Hola, girls." Freddie greeted, walking up to his two friends.

"Fredweird." Sam greeted back apathetically, looking away from Freddie.

"Hey, Freddie." Carly greeted cheerfully, seeing that at least Freddie was back to normal and wasn't acting as weird anymore. "Are you done with acting weird with us now?"

"I was never weird."

"But I think you were." Carly joked, looking to Sam, who seemed disconnected from this conversation. "Sam's still acting pretty weird."

Sam shot her attention back to the conversation upon hearing her name. "No I'm not." Sam glared at Freddie.

"Don't look at me- You said you were going to be cool in front of Carly." Freddie argued, defending himself from whatever tirade Sam was going to begin.

"Yeah, well, I lied." Sam growled, slamming her locker loudly. "I'm going home."

"Oh no, you don't." Carly called out, grabbing Sam by her shoulder and spinning her around. "We have to do iCarly tonight, remember?"

Sam just groaned. "I just, I need some time right now. I'll be over before the show starts. Promise."

Carly looked her best friend in the eye and saw she was being sincere. For whatever reasons that Sam needed to be alone, Carly decided to respect it. "Alright. Be by my place by eight."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know."

* * *

"What the heck's up with Sam? It's like she has a huge chip on her shoulder. She glares at you like she's pissed." Carly sipped her smoothie, sitting opposite of her brunette-haired friend.

"I've been told not to speak of it." Freddie simply replied, sipping his smoothie nonchalantly.

"Speak of what?" Carly asked. "What happened between the two of you?"

"I don't want to say. It's so... Awkward."

Carly stared Freddie down, as if her gaze would burn a hole through his head and she'd discover the secret he was hiding from her. "Tell me."

"No."

Carly just sat back and shrugged. "Fine."

"Fine?"

"Yeah, fine."

"What do you mean, 'fine'. You're giving up, just like that?"

Carly pulled out her phone and started to make a call. "Yep."

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Carly..."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Carly!"

"Hey, Sam?" Carly said, no longer paying attention to Freddie. "Freddie told me everything that happened."

"What? Carly!" Freddie shouted, reaching over the table. "Give me that! Hang up!"

Carly got out of her seat and ran to the opposite side of the establishment. "Yep, we're still at Groovy's. Yep, Freddie's still here."

"Carly! Hang up that phone!" Freddie shouted, chasing Carly. He finally caught up to her and snatched the phone out of her hand, but Sam had already hung up.

"She's on her way here." Carly replied, a smug look on her face. "I'm going to find out what happened, one way or another."

"Oh chiz, Sam's going to be furious when she sees me!" Freddie panicked. "I'm going home!"

"Nuh-uh. You're staying _right _here." Carly stood in front of the exit, blocking Freddie's way. "Unless you want Sam to be even angrier when she gets here and realizes you ran away?"

Freddie looked conflicted and eventually succumbed to Carly's efforts. "Fine, I'll wait here. But if I end up in the hospital, I'm blaming everything on you."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Sam entered the doors of Groovy Smoothies. Oddly enough, she didn't seem all that angry. Carly was prepared to encounter a distressed and furious Sam, so she bought a Blueberry Blitz smoothie for her in advance.

"Thanks." Sam responded, taking the smoothie from Carly's hands. Sam saw that Freddie was nowhere to be seen. "Where's the dork? I thought you said he was here."

"He's in the bathroom." Carly responded. "But never mind that. Mind telling me exactly what happened?"

"Didn't Fred-head already tell you? About what happened on Saturday?"

Carly knew she could trick Sam into spilling the beans. "Sort of, but I'm just a little disappointed that you didn't tell me anything. I'm your best friend."

Sam saw the disappointment in Carly's eyes and sighed. "I know. I'm sorry. But, it's not like I told anyone else. I mean, I didn't even know how I felt about it."

"About what?"

Sam looked around Groovy Smoothies and saw that there were only a few other people there and no one she recognized. She turned back to Carly and lowered her voice. "About the kiss, what else?" Sam said, as if she knew what Carly was referring to.

At that time, Freddie exited the bathroom and saw that his two female friends were seated at the table, talking. Carly looked towards the bathroom and she stood up. "You two kissed?"

Sam also stood up and turned to face Freddie as well. "I thought you told her everything, you nub."

"I didn't tell her anything. You told me to keep my mouth shut, so I did." Freddie stated, matter of the factly, ignoring Carly.

"But Carly-"

"I lied so you would tell me what happened between you two." Carly explained quickly before going back to her initial question. "You guys kissed?"

"Guess the whole 'we-just-did-it-to-get-it-over-with' excuse isn't really going to fly, huh?" Freddie joked, sitting back at the table. Carly and Sam also sat down, although they were unsure of continuing the conversation.

"What does this mean, you guys are dating now?" Carly asked, crossing her arms. She felt a little unsure about the idea of her two best friends dating.

"Um, no, not exactly." Sam replied, looking back to Freddie. "I sort of... Turned him down."

"Oh. Awkward."

"Very. Can we please not bring it up?" Sam pleaded.

"No, I want to know what happened. So who kissed who?" Carly asked.

"I kissed her." Freddie replied, now ready to give up information voluntarily. "We were chilling out at my place and we happened to trip over each other in the living room."

"Ugh. Can we _really_ not talk about this?" Sam groaned.

Carly shushed Sam and turned back to Freddie. "And then?"

"When we were on the floor, I just... Kissed her?"

Carly's jaw dropped as she stared at Freddie. "I see someone grew a pair. I've never pegged you to be brave enough to do something like that."

Freddie just smiled and shrugged, playing off Carly's compliment.

"Oh gosh, did you kiss him back?" Carly asked, turning to her best friend. Sam had an annoyed expression written all over her face.

"I don't feel inclined to answer that question."

"That means 'yes'!" Carly laughed. Sam just sunk back in her seat, starting to blush. "Doesn't that mean 'yes'?" Carly asked Sam, getting excited.

"... I don't feel inclined to answer that question." Sam repeated.

* * *

**Author's Note: This was inspired by something that happened where someone confronted me about the guy I liked. I replied with "I don't feel inclined to answer that." and they teased me that it meant 'yes' and that for sure I liked the guy. I still reserve the right to not answer that question lolz :P**


	10. Date

**Date**

* * *

"Don't worry, kiddo- I'm sure you'll find someone."

"You don't understand, Spencer. These tickets were expensive; I'm not about to hoist them off to just anybody. It has to be someone special." Spencer and Carly were both situated on their living room couch, Spencer consoling Carly of her problem.

At that moment, Sam strolled in through the front door, as if she owned the place. "What's up skillet-biscuits?" she greeted, throwing her coat and backpack onto the nearby lounge chair.

"Carly has a problem involving these tickets." Spencer stated, taking the tickets out of Carly's hands and showing them to Sam.

Sam quickly snatched the tickets from Spencer's hand and gave them a quick look. "What's the tickets for? 'Return From The Past'?" Sam asked. "Sounds interesting. It's a play?"

"Yes, my dad bought them for me and Spencer to go to, but there's been a sudden death in the family and now I can't go because I need to attend a funeral in Yakima." Carly explains. "Do you want to go?"

Sam looked at the tickets once more and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, I don't see why not. But there are two tickets here."

"Buenos dias, muchachas y muchacho." Freddie greeted, entering the Shay's loft. "What's going on here?"

"Tickets to some fancy-shmancy play. You wanna go?" Sam offered, holding out one of the tickets towards Freddie. Freddie just eyed the tickets suspiciously, but figured it couldn't be all that bad. He shrugged his shoulders just the same as Sam did and took one of the tickets.

"I could see a play."

"Great, see you tonight, then." Sam stated simply, before grabbing up her coat. "I forgot I gotta meet my mom at Buddmucker's. See you hobos and 'hobas' later." Sam then exited the loft as quickly as she entered.

As soon as Sam closed the door, Carly and Spencer both started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Freddie questioned, looking at the two siblings.

"Oh, nothing..." Carly laughed.

"Just that you have a _date_ with Sam!" Spencer laughed out loud, poking Freddie.

"This is _so_ not a date."

Carly moved to the other side of Freddie, so that he was now surrounded by both siblings. "Think about it; It sorta is."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa-" Freddie almost shouted, grabbing Carly by the shoulders. "A... _date_? With Sam?"

"What's the big deal? You and Sam go out all the time." Carly said, confused as to why Freddie was freaking out. Freddie let go of Carly's shoulders and started pacing around the living room.

"Yeah, but not by ourselves- It's usually with other people, like with you! Or even Gibby!" Freddie stated.

"What about last weekend when the two of you went to Groovy Smoothies together? You guys went alone then." Spencer stated, matter-of-the-factly.

"That doesn't count!" Freddie shot back, flailing his arms about.

"Well, what about-"

"This is not the issue at hand, here!" Freddie hollered.

"So what are you going to do? Are you going to stand Sam up?" Carly teased.

* * *

Sam looked at her watch impatiently. She hated waiting. The appointed time to meet was long gone and Sam was getting irritated. Maybe this whole thing was a stupid idea. She looked once more at her watch again, the minute hand only crawling across the face.

"Sam, over here!" A male's voice called out, causing Sam to look up at the approaching brunette.

"Hey, took you long enough. I've been waiting here for like, fifteen minutes." Sam complained, tapping her foot and showing Freddie her watch.

"Sorry, my mom was- Whoa. You look... _Great._" Freddie stated, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, looking Sam up and down. She wore an outfit that Freddie could only describe in his mind as beautiful and elegant. Her outfit was far more, as he could only describe as, "girly" than usual; definitely not something Sam would usually wear. But then again, this was a pretty classy place and Sam had a pretty good sense of fashion when it came down to it.

Sam scoffed. "What, is that a compliment?" Sam asked, her eyebrow arched.

Freddie almost choked, but knew he would have to keep his cool; Especially around Sam. "So what if it is? You got a problem with it?" Freddie joked.

"No, not at all. You just caught me a little off-guard, that's all. You look pretty good too, Benson," Sam complimented, noticing Freddie was wearing a classy outfit. "Your mommy pick that outfit out for you?" Sam followed up with a quick insult.

"As a matter of fact, she did," Freddie shot back, just as quick as Sam.

* * *

Inside the theater hall, Freddie handed the two tickets to the usher.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Shay, your seats and located here in the VIP section. I'll lead you there now," the usher offered. Freddie and Sam followed the usher up the stairs, both sharing a glance at each other.

"Don't get any ideas, Benson."

"I didn't say anything!" Freddie defended.

"Whatever. That usher is an idiot." Sam huffed, walking past Freddie up the stairs. As soon as Freddie knew Sam was no longer looking as him, he giggled softly. Whether it was being called Mr. Shay or being confused for Sam's husband or maybe both, only he would know. "Freddie, what the heck are you giggling at? Our seats are over here."

The two were seated in a nice balcony area, a perfect view of everything and everyone on the stage. Freddie quietly sat down in his seat and looked over at Sam, who seemed to be perusing through the program's pamphlet.

The two sat comfortably in their seats as they enjoyed the performance and each other's company, but Freddie seemed to be more interested in Sam than the performance, really. He looked over at Sam, who was very interested in the play.

"You seem to be really into the performance." Freddie quietly commented. Sam only shushed Freddie, her attention completely focused on the performing actors on stage. An hour passed before the first intermission started. The lights came on and Sam stood up.

"I'm going to the bathroom. You stayin' here?" she asked, her typical no-nonsense attitude. Freddie only nodded, as Sam left with her purse in hand. As soon as Sam left, Freddie quickly whipped out his PearPhone and began dialing digits. He pressed his PearPhone to his ear, eager for the person on the other end of the line to pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Carly, is Spencer there?"

"_Uh, yeah, hold on."_

Freddie waited impatiently as the sound of shuffling noises came in through the receiver.

"Spence?"

"_Yo, Fred-O. Whaddup?"_

"Um, y'know thing I have with Sam?"

"_Y'mean your date with her?"_

"It's not a date!"

"_Jeez, no need to yell. Well, what about?"_

"I'm freaking out, Spencer. I mean, after you and Carly teased me about it being... a date... I don't know, I'm just not the same around her."

"_Freddie, re-he-he-lax! You're still you and Sam's still Sam. Just be yourself. It's not like Sam's said this was a date anyway, right?"_

"Well, no, but," At that moment, Sam approached Freddie from behind and Freddie quickly put his phone away, ending the call.

"Who was that?" Sam asked, sitting down in her seat, next to Freddie.

"Oh, just Spencer. He was calling to see how the play was." Freddie quickly lied.

"Oh. What'd you tell him?" Sam asked, sitting back down in her seat.

Freddie looked panicked. He wasn't even really paying attention to the play. He had been watching Sam this whole time. "Um, just that it was confusing."

Sam looked confused by Freddie's response. "Confusing? What's so confusing about it?"

"Don't know if you didn't notice, but I don't really go to plays all that often, Puckett."

Sam just scoffed. "So? Neither do I."

"You seemed pretty darn interested with _this_ play."

"I saw the movie version of this play once when I was a kid- I already knew the basic story."

"You did?"

Sam nodded. She went on explaining the plot of the story, the characters' backgrounds and their date with destiny. Freddie could care less about some stupid play, but watching Sam getting excited about something she loved was no doubt fun for him to watch. He wouldn't admit out loud, but he loved when Sam was unbridled with joy. In the midst of her going on about how awesome the play was, the lights flickered on and off a few times, signaling the end of the intermission.

"Oh, the intermission's almost done!" Sam stated excitedly, looking down towards the stage to see a few actors shuffling across the dark-lit stage. The two resumed to watch the remainder of the play and once it was over, the two exited back to the main lobby of the theater.

"That was actually really good. The ending was fantastic." Freddie commented, looking over the program pamphlet once more. "You feel like grabbing a smoothie or something?"

"Sure, why not. I assume you'll be paying?"

Freddie chuckled. "Sure, why not," he echoed.

* * *

After a truly lovely evening of theater and smoothies, Sam and Freddie reached the eighth floor of Bushwell Plaza.

"You sure Carly said it was alright for you to sleep over her at her house while her and Spencer are in Yakima?" Freddie asked, opening his front door. Sam chose not to answer Freddie as she quickly picked the lock to the Shay's apartment.

"I had a cool time tonight. You sure know how to treat a lady, Benson. I'm impressed." Sam chuckled, opening the door. She turned to face Freddie, looking up at him. The two remained still for a few seconds, not speaking and just looking into each other's eyes. Freddie took a step forward, which only made Sam grin even wider. "Don't get any ideas, Benson."

Freddie chuckled softly as Sam revisited the same phrase she used earlier that evening. "I didn't say anything."

Sam gave Freddie a quick peck on the cheek, before retreating into the Shay apartment. "Night, Benson." she whispered, before closing the door. "It was a nice date."


	11. Wii

**Wii**

* * *

"_Sweet, I'm on my way over, then."_

"Okay, but promise me you won't fight with Freddie? My dad just bought it for me so I _really_ don't want it broken, Sam."

"_Cool your chiz, Carls. I'll be chill."_

Carly had just gotten a brand-new Bintendo Wii gaming console from her father and had invited her friends, Sam and Freddie, over to play. Unfortunately, Carly couldn't even remember the last time Sam and Freddie remained civil while in the same room with one another. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" hollered Carly, setting up the Wii.

"Yo yo yo, Carly." Freddie greeted, straddling in with his hands full with machinery.

"What's all that?" Carly asked, taking some of the machinery from Freddie and placing it on the coffee table. "It's heavy."

"This is my Sbox 720. I figured since we were having a video game day, that I would bring my video games, too." Freddie explained, showing off his awesome console.

Carly just looked at the intimidating video game console and back to her own. She was definitely not a gamer so she had no clue what was what. "Y'know what? You can ask Sam what she wants to play. She's coming over right now."

Freddie groaned. "Ugh, really? That monster's coming over? For what?"

"To play video games, silly!" Carly laughed, playfully slapping Freddie. "Now I want you to promise me you won't get into any fights with Sam, alright?"

"I don't think I'm the one you should be worrying about, Carly."

* * *

Moments later, the Sbox 720 was completely hooked up, laying next to the Bintendo Wii. Just as Freddie was about to switch on the Sbox, Sam came barging in through the front door.

"What goes on, people? Got the Wii hooked up yet?" Sam asked, throwing herself on the couch.

Freddie smirked at Sam. "Actually, we were just about to start playing the Sbox 720. I brought it over from my place and figured we could play it."

"You're joking, right? I didn't catch a bus halfway across town just to _not _play Carly's new Bintendo Wii." Sam argued.

"But I have Rock Star for the Sbox! C'mon, we can play that instead of the Wii." Freddie persuaded, waving the game disc in front of Sam's face.

"Get that outta my face, Benson!" Sam growled, smacking Freddie's hand away, causing the disc to fall to the ground. "Carly called me over to play Bintendo Wii, go back home with your nerdy Sbox if you want to play Rock Star so badly."

Freddie carefully picked up the game disc and inspected it, sighing exasperated. "Well, I sure can't now, Puckett." Freddie spat, enunciating Sam's name. "The game disc is cracked now. It won't play anymore."

"Oh, what, and that's my fault, Benson?" Sam spat back, enunciating Freddie's name just as badly. "Maybe it was broken to begin with, like your head!"

"Must you always antagonize me?" Freddie asked, throwing the broken game disc to the floor.

Sam just shrugged her shoulders, turning on the Wii console. "Must you always be so stupid?"

"You really should improve your attitude, Sam. One of these days you might push Freddie too far..." Carly warned, taking up the Wii controller.

Sam merely waved her hand, dismissing Carly's warning. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

* * *

The two girls played whatever Wii games Carly had for a good amount of time. So much time, that Carly was getting tired.

"I'm getting tired."

Sam groaned at Carly's complaints. "So? Order us a pizza and let's keep playing. Seriously, we're almost to the end of the game."

"You've been playing this game for like, three hours. Can't we play a different game, at least?" Freddie pleaded. "I'm getting bored."

"No one cares what you have to say, Freddork. We're gonna keep playing this game 'til I beat it."

Carly and Freddie both simultaneously groaned. "We don't have time to wait around for you to beat this silly video game!" complained Freddie.

"I swear, you're worse than Spencer with Pak-Rat!" Carly threw her hands up into the air, giving up. She grabbed up her PearPhone and began calling a pizza parlor.

"Hey! Puckett!" Freddie yelled, swiping his hand back-and-forth in front of Sam's face, "You _do_ have two other friends that want to play, too, y'know! And we want to play something else!"

"Shut it, Benson- I'm almost done with the level. Don't get your undies in a bunch." Sam mumbled, keeping her focus on the video game.

"I'm gonna run down to the Groovy Smoothies before the pizza gets here." Carly announced, throwing on her coat.

"Get me a Strawberry Splat, will ya?" Sam hollered while still keeping her full concentration on the video game.

Carly pulled Freddie aside, away from Sam. "Promise me you won't get into any more fights with Sam while I'm gone. I trust you can play nice for at least ten minutes, right?"

"I don't think I'm the one you should be worrying about, Carly." Freddie said with a smile, repeating what he said three hours prior.

Carly just smirked at Freddie as she exited the apartment, making her way to the Groovy Smoothies. As she left, Freddie turned his attention to Sam. "You are so inconsiderate, you know that?"

"What the chiz are you yappin' on about now, Fredweina?" Sam snapped, still not breaking her focus from the video game at hand. She was only a mere two levels away from defeating the entire game.

Freddie decided it was about time he stood up for himself. He deserved _that _much. He walked over to the Wii and turned off the video game, right as Sam was in the middle of it.

Sam stood up from the couch, utterly shocked by what Freddie did. "You idiot! That was three hours down the drain! What the chiz did you do that for, you freakin' fudgebag?"

Freddie stepped up to Sam, his stature towering over hers. "I'm glad I did! It's about time _someone_ stood up to you!"

Freddie's tall stature did not intimidate Sam at all, for she'd stood her own against guys burlier than this specific tech nub many a time. "You're gonna regret you did that, Benson."

* * *

Carly came home moments later, returning with the smoothies to an empty living room. The Wii was turned off but the television was still on. She looked around and yelled out for her friends. "Sam? Freddie? Where'd you two go?"

The doorbell suddenly rang, the pizza arriving right on time. Carly paid for the pizza but still had no one to enjoy it with. She tried calling out to her friends once more before deciding to look for them. "Hello? Sam? Freddie?"

At that moment, Sam came bursting out of the hallway bathroom, appearing out of breath. "Yo, Carls," she noticed the pizza. "Oh, sweet! Mama loves the pizza!" She jumped over the couch and helped herself to a slice of pizza.

"Where's Freddie?" Carly asked.

"Oh, he's a little tied up with something. Left to take care of it or whatever." Sam said, as if no big deal. "He left a few minutes ago."

"Why's the video game off?" Carly asked, also taking a pizza slice for herself.

"The nub was right; That game was getting boring. I thought maybe we could play that Sbox game or whatever." Sam suggested.

"Guess Freddie finally stood up to you, hm?" Carly teased.

Sam just scoffed. "Puh-leeze, Carls,"

* * *

Meanwhile in the Shay's hallway bathroom, Freddie lay in the bathtub tangled in the shower curtain, his mouth taped shut with duct tape. He tried to struggle free or scream so he could receive help, but Sam made sure Freddie would stay put for a while. Freddie gave up after struggling for a few minutes and just looked up at the light on the ceiling. He thought back to how he got himself stuck in this situation.

"_You're gonna regret you did that, Benson."_

_Freddie tried his best not to look afraid but did not succeed. "W-What are you gonna do," Freddie stuttered, backing away from Sam._

_Sam chased Freddie down and managed to drag him to the bathroom using her monstrous strength. After successfully tying him up with the shower curtain and some duct tape, she smiled mischeviously at Freddie. "I gotta admit it, Fredwad, you sure do have the balls to stand up to someone like me." She kissed her hand and slapped Freddie across the cheek, leaving behind hint of her lip gloss. Freddie looked somewhat confused yet aroused by Sam's sudden slap but did not have a chance to speak up as Sam quickly duct-taped his mouth shut._

_

* * *

_

Sam shook her head at her best friend. "There ain't a boy in all of Seattle that has it in him to stand up to me," she took another bite out of her pizza before finishing her sentence. "It takes a man."

* * *

**Author's Note: So I realize I sort of strayed away from using "Wii" as the main subject of the one-shot, but I don't really give a flying fladoodle /harhar :P**


	12. Phone

**Phone**

* * *

"Get a job, you asshole!" A vase suddenly made its way flying through the living room. It hit the wall opposite from where it was thrown and smashed to pieces.

"I have a job and I go to school at the same time! What about you?"

Sam and her mother were arguing again, presumably about the fact that both parent and offspring were as they described one another, "deadbeats".

"I don't need to take this crap from you." Pam spat back, throwing another random object carelessly across the living room out of rage. Sam quickly held her arms up in defense as the object made its way toward her, but defended herself unsuccessfully as the object hit her on the head. She stumbled backwards but quickly regained her composure. Pam looked a bit surprised that the object had hit her daughter, but the guilt was quickly replaced with the returning anger.

"That _hurt_!" Sam yelled, checking for blood. There was none, thankfully. Sam glared at her mother and then groaned, exasperated. She stormed out the door, running down the street. As soon as she reached the curb, she curled up in a ball and started crying. All her frustrations, sadness, and anger was released in a series of groans, moans, sobs and a waterfall of tears. She dug through the pockets of the jacket she was wearing for her cell phone and dialed a phone number she knew by heart.

No answer. Straight to voicemail, in fact.

Sam wiped her tears and tried texting. She waited. She waited one minute but there was no response. She waited five minutes but there was still no response. Sam decidedly gave up when there was no reply after ten minutes of waiting. She rubbed away her tears with her jacket sleeve and Sam decided that she _really _needed someone right now. She dialed another phone number she knew by heart.

The phone rang.

The phone rang once more.

The phone rang a third time.

"_Hey."_

The voice form the other end of the line overcame Sam with a wave of relief.

"F-Fredlumps. Where's Carls? She's... S-She's not answering her cell." Sam spoke, trying to mask the fact that she had been crying.

"_Late night movie with Spencer. Her phone's probably off."_

Sam sniffled. "...Oh."

Freddie heard the sniffle. _"What's wrong? Where are you?"_ Freddie asked, sounding alarmed.

"I'm at home." Sam replied, but decided that wasn't exactly accurate. "Sort of."

Freddie sighed. _"Are you sitting on the curb again?"_

Sam was surprised Freddie knew her so well. "Yeah. Why?"

"_I'll come pick you up. Just stay there."_

No less than five minutes later, Freddie rolled up in his silver Camaro. He opened the passenger door from the driver's seat. "Get in," Freddie invited.

Sam obeyed and entered the car. The two sat in the car in the dark, with only a single street light shining any light on them. Freddie turned on the dome light. The inside of the car lit up and Freddie was able to get a better look at the blonde.

Her eyes were red and puffy and her mascara was running down her cheeks. Freddie moved the hair out of Sam's face and tucked it behind her ear, but Sam just moved away from him causing her hair to fall back in front of her face. "Don't."

"_You _don't." Freddie insisted, moving Sam's hair back out of her face. This time he noticed something. A slight bruise on her temple. "What's this?" Freddie asked, tenderly touching the bruise.

Sam winced as Freddie's warm touch sent a shock up her spine and pain to her head. "It was just an accident," Sam whispered. "She was throwing stuff."

Freddie moved his hand away from Sam's bruise and gently caressed her cheek, wiping away her tears. He sighed somewhat out of pity as he looked at Sam. He smiled earnestly, hoping his goofy grin would be contagious. Sam tried a smile, but it was half-hearted.

"Maybe a smoothie will cheer you up." Freddie offered, starting the car and driving off.

Sam turned to face Freddie, who had his eyes concentrated on the road. She looked at the boy-now-turned-man and just stared at him.

Freddie didn't need to take his eyes off the road to know the girl beside him was burning holes into his face with her stare. "What's up? You're staring at me," he said, almost laughing.

Sam just couldn't wrap her finger around it. Sure, the two were friends and _had_ been friends for their entire middle and high school lives, but Sam never thought the two were actually_ this_ close. "You're being really nice to me, Benson. What's the catch?"

Freddie slowly brought the car to a stop as he parked in front of Groovy Smoothies. He turned off the engine and turned to face Sam, a smile on his face. "There's no catch, Sam. I'm just trying to be your friend." He opened the car door and left, but peered his head back in when he realized his blonde friend hadn't moved. "You comin' or what?"

Sam just grinned, following the brunette. The two entered the empty smoothie shop, the bell on the door chiming their entrance.

"We're closed. Come back tomorrow," A worker called, crouched behind the counter.

"Can you make an exception?" Freddie asked, waiting for the worker to stand up.

The worker, otherwise known as T-Bo to all his customers, stood up from behind the counter and looked at the two young adults. "Freddie? Sam? What're you kids doin' here so late?" T-Bo took one look at Sam and noticed something was amiss.

Freddie stepped in front of Sam, causing T-Bo to turn his focus to him instead of Sam. "Can you make an exception?" Freddie repeated, now that T-Bo was somewhat aware of the irregular situation. T-Bo decided it was not the time for questioning and decided to trust Freddie's intentions.

"What can I get for the two of you?" T-Bo asked, an inviting smile on his face.

* * *

"How can you be so nice to me?" Sam asked, sipping her smoothie. The two had already made it back to Bushwell Plaza, sitting in the dark on Freddie's couch. Freddie had turned on the television and muted it, as to not awaken his sleeping mother in the next room. The light from the television proved to shed enough light for the two to see.

"What do you mean?" Freddie asked, puzzled by Sam's question.

"_I_ _mean_, I'm mean to you all the time. So how can you just turn around and be so nice to me? Picking me up from the curb, buying me a smoothie and offering to let me stay here."

Freddie just smiled his usual smile and rolled his eyes. "You're so oblivious, Puckett. Get it through your head: We're like, best friends."

Sam smiled back at the goofy boy. "Yeah, it's true. There's only one other person I'm closer to than you and that's Carls."

Freddie just chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Sam asked, a little annoyed that Freddie would laugh when Sam was being genuine.

Freddie just shook his head. "Nothing. It's just... I think that's the first time you ever actually admitted we were close friends."

"Well, it's almost midnight on a Friday night and we're sitting alone in the dark in your living room. Pretty sure if we were just acquaintances or classmates, we wouldn't be doing this." Sam said, pointing out the obvious. Freddie just laughed and sipped his smoothie.

"Very true."

Sam smiled as Freddie agreed with her and looked at the boyish man. "Still, I'm glad you answered the phone when I called."

Freddie just smiled back warmly. He would never ignore a call from Sam.

* * *

**A/N: The cheesiness of this fic makes me laugh. :)**


	13. Love

**Love

* * *

**

Sam sat lazily on the couch, staring blankly at whatever was on the television. She thought maybe it was some type of reality series, but she wasn't really paying any attention. She sighed as she shifted on the couch, laying her head against her beau's muscular chest.

"Hey. I love you." her beau called out.

"Alright." Sam replied back, not really acknowledging the man.

The man flirtatiously blew air into the girl's ear.

"I love you," he repeated.

She dismissed him yet again, "Yes, I heard you."

The man sighed, but decided to try once more. "I _love_ you," he said, stretching out his words to sound more affectionate.

"Okay."

The man sighed once more, this time more irritated. "Why won't you say it back?" he asked, shifting his body, forcing Sam off him.

The girl turned her attention from the television to the man, looking straight into his eyes. "You only _think_ you're in love with me, Freddie."

The man, "Freddie" as Sam called him, looked perplexed. "What?" he asked, asking for more information.

"Love is merely imaginary." the girl explained further. "What we have is just a relationship built entirely on human loneliness and lust. Not to mention fabulous sex."

Freddie found Sam's explanation a bit quaint and a little humorous, but not something to laugh at. "You mean you don't love me back?"

The girl put her hand around Freddie's neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. She breathed out as she pulled back, looking lovingly into his eyes. "I care deeply for you, Freddie. I would give an arm and a leg just to be with you."

The man scoffed, "And _that's_ not love?"

"The word is so loosely used that it's lost all meaning. It's just like any other word."

Freddie was still confused and now slightly offended. "So how can I prove that I love you?"

"But you _don't_ love me." Sam corrected, "You only _think_ that you love me."

Freddie sat back and crossed his arms, getting a bit angry, "Now that's a little unfair. I'm pretty sure when I signed on to be part of this relationship and it was because I love you."

"Mm-hmm." Sam replied, turning her attention back to the television.

Freddie threw his hands up in the air and looked away from the blonde. "Well, fine then."

"Don't be angry," Sam started, looking back to Freddie, whose arms were now crossed over his chest.  
"Who says I'm angry? I'm not angry," Freddie quickly replied, obviously a bit angry.

Sam just grinned, resting her hand on his shoulder and blowing air gently into his ear. The blowing air send a prickly feeling of ecstasy up Freddie's spine, clearly turning him on as he took in a sharp breath of air and let it out shakily.

"W-What are you doing?" Freddie asked, looking at the grinning Sam.

Sam just continued showing off her confident grin. "If it makes you feel any better... I think I love you, too."

* * *

**A/N: I actually have two stories under the category for "Love"- the second one will come up more towards the end. :)**


	14. Phone Drabble

**Phone (Drabble)**

* * *

**6:34 pm**

Sam waited impatiently as the phone rang. Finally, the ringing stopped and the sound of someone picking up the phone could be heard. "Hey, Fredly," she called out, before giving the other person a chance to answer.

"Hey, what up?" The voice on the other end responded.

"Nothing much. Bored. Carls isn't answering her phone; Figured I'd call you."

"Ah, I see."

"What you up to?" Sam picked up the television remote and turned the volume on the TV quieter.

"Just watching some _Girly Cow_ at home."

"No chiz? Me too."

"This episode is lame, though."

"I know! Why do they keep rerunning it?"  
"They're idiots."

Sam laughed.

"… Want to come over and watch it together? I can make popcorn." Freddie suggested.

"Is it the cheesy kind of popcorn?"

"Yes?"

"Sure, I'll be right over, then."

"K. See you then."

They both hung up.

* * *

**7:20pm**

Freddie waited impatiently as the phone rang. He heard the phone being picked up as it stopped ringing. "Hey."

"… Hey."

"You didn't have to leave so early."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Please come back. Where are you right now?"

"Groovy Smoo."

"Alright, wait there. I'll be right there. I'm coming for you."

"Fine."

They both hung up.

* * *

**7:32pm**

"… Yea?" Sam answered the phone, impatience in the tone of her voice.

"You weren't at Groovy Smoothies."

"I _was._ I just left before you got there."

"Why'd you leave? I told you I was coming for you."

"I didn't want to let you see me like that."

"Like I care what you're wearing. You looked fine."

"Yea, I guess."

"Where are you now?"

"I'm on the bus—On my way home."

There was a slight pause.

"Can I come over? I really want to talk about this."

"We're talking now, aren't we?"

"I want to talk to you in person."

There was another slight pause.

"Fine. Just don't get upset if my mom starts hitting on you."

This time, Sam hung up on Freddie.

* * *

**8:49pm**

"Yes?" Freddie asked, sounding a little confused.

"Bring me a soda."

Freddie chuckled.

"You had to call on my phone even though I'm pretty much in the next room?"

"Yep. Cream soda. Now."

"Alright."

This time, Freddie hung up on Sam.

* * *

**10:42pm**

Freddie answered the phone abruptly, moving away from the drizzling water. "Sam? I'm showering! What is it?"

"Don't use the green soap. It'll make you itch. Use my purple soap instead."

There was a slight pause, with only the sound of drizzling water hitting porcelin being heard.

"Alright. Thanks for the heads up, I suppose."

They both hung up.

* * *

**3:22am**

"Yes?" Freddie answered the phone, whispering, as he sneaked into his own home.

"You forgot your wallet over here. And your belt."

"I'm already at home. I'll come back for it later this morning."

"You're such a slut."

"Back at 'cha, Puckett."

* * *

**A/N: Urgh, I don't even know. God, I'm such a horn-dog. :P**


	15. Kiss

**20 Word Seddie Challenge – Kiss**

* * *

**_.Friday Night_**

"Don't be such a big baby!"  
"I can't believe you'd try to ruin this for me!"

"It's my job to keep you safe!"  
"You don't deserve this smoothie!"

The door slammed shut, leaving the arguing siblings' voices muffled.

Freddie let out an exasperated sigh, leaning against the Shay's apartment door.

"Man, talk about awkward." Sam remarked, shaking her head.

"Wanna chill at my place 'til it cools down over there?" Freddie offered, taking out his house keys.

Sam shrugged her shoulders casually. "Sure, why not." Freddie opened the door to his home and entered, closing the door behind Sam. "Got any meat?" Sam asked, making a bee line for the refrigerator.

"I think we have some sliced deli ham..." Freddie responded, leaving Sam to the kitchen as he made his way to his bedroom. Sam opened the fridge and saw the plate of sliced ham, sitting beautifully on the top shelf. She swiftly ripped off the saran wrap and proceeded to eating the ham.

"Mmm, this is pretty good ham," Sam muttered to herself, carrying the plate of ham into Freddie's bedroom. She nearly dropped the plate when she laid her eyes at the sight in front of her.

Freddie was topless, rummaging through a pile of clothing scattered about on his bed. Probably looking for a clean shirt to wear.

Sam had seen Freddie topless before, but this time it was different. They were alone. In Freddie's bedroom. And he had muscle tone.

"I see you found the deli ham." Freddie stated with a smirk on his face. He pulled a Penny Tee from the pile of clothing and slipped it on. He looked at Sam's somewhat bewildered face and scrunched his own face in confusion. "What's up? Why the face?"

Sam snapped out of her daze and shook her head once. "Why're you changing shirts?" Freddie just shrugged. He murmured an "I don't know" noise and looked down at his shirt which read "Naked Bacon".

"I like wearing Penny Tees. Besides, our A/C is broken and it's hot today."

"I guess."

The two moved back out into the living room and turned the television on. Freddie quickly turned the channel to an MMA match.

"Is this pay-per-view?" Sam asked, finishing off the plate of ham.

Freddie shook his head. "No, this is a match from last week Monday."

"Oh, Monday Night MMA."

"Yeah."

Sam placed the empty plate onto the coffee table. "Speaking of MMA, what the heck are we going to do about the whole Jackson Colt thing?"

"My mom won't let me go and now Carly can't go either." Freddie stated, recapping what's happened over the past few days.

Sam groaned, watching the MMA fight on the television unravel. "I never pegged Spencer to be the responsible type. It's so out-of-character for him."

Freddie passively agreed, slinging his arm over the back of the couch as he got more comfortable. Sam noticed this ordinary action and looked at Freddie's well-toned arms. How long has he been in this sort of shape? She'd never noticed how... _manly_... Freddie had become. Her curiosity got the best of her as she reached out with her hand and rested it upon his forearm, inching up past his radial muscles towards his biceps. Freddie noticed the touch and looked over at the mysterious blonde.

"What are you doing?" he asked, almost sounding innocent and naive. He impulsively flexed his arm. The flex only spurred Sam's excitement further.

Sam had not yet realized that Freddie had asked her a question, ignoring him completely as she started to roll the sleeve towards his shoulders, to get a better look at his biceps. She mumbled something to herself.

"I'm sorry?" Freddie asked, only hearing a quiet mumble escaping the inquisitive blonde's lips. "What did you say?"

Sam jerked her head up to look Freddie eye-to-eye and a goofy grin appeared on her face. Sam had begun to mistake Freddie for the other hunky boys at school and her usual defensive parameters were going down. Her girly side was showing. She giggled quite possibly the girliest laugh Freddie ever heard and just smiled at the muscular brunette.

"Sam?" Freddie asked, ready to repeat himself once more. "What are you doing, Sam?"

Sam snapped out of her daze and saw what she had been doing. She was checking out the geek! God, she would never be able to live this down if Freddie caught onto it. Maybe because he's a boy he doesn't know her true intentions. Dammit, she couldn't take that chance. If she went for it, maybe it would shut him up and save her dignity in front of her other friends, her classmates, or even Carly.

She looked up at Freddie to look him straight in the face. She almost got lost in his hazel gaze. She felt as if those eyes were drawing her in, bringing her eyes closer to his.

Wait. It wasn't her eyes that were being drawn closer to him. It was her lips! Before she knew it, her lips had connected with his. To prevent getting embarrassed, she quickly fluttered her eyes shut and began processing what was happening. She was kissing Fredward Benson.

Wait, if her eyes were closed, how could she tell what Freddie was doing? She quickly bolted her eyes open to look at the boy she was kissing. His eyes were now shut and he was doing something peculiar with his own lips. Oh god, he was actually kissing her back! Sam quickly closed her eyes again, instinctively deepening the kiss.

Freddie seemed to enjoy the kiss for the most part, enjoying the sweet taste of her mouth as he wrapped his arm around her small frame. This definitely wasn't like the first time they had shared a kiss. The first time only lasted a short eight seconds while this one felt like an eternity. Freddie opened his right eye slightly to look at the clock on the opposite side of the wall. He moved his lips according to Sam's as the two exchanged saliva, the second hand ticking away. A slight smile grew on Freddie's face as the second hand went almost all the way around the face of the clock before he shut his eyes and leaned into Sam. They were both lying on the couch now, Freddie on top of Sam.

"F-Freddie..." Sam whispered, between kisses. Freddie almost didn't hear her, getting into the kiss. But he managed to pull back just long enough to utter one almost-word.

"Uh-huh?" Freddie mumbled, slightly out of breath from all the kissing. Freddie held out his arm towards the girl, holding himself up over her as his other arm still lay loosely around her hip.

Sam looked up at Freddie, both out of breath. She gazed into his eyes for a while, both suddenly realizing what they were doing. Freddie quickly saw the look in Sam's eyes and scrambled to get off of her.

"Uh, maybe I should go." Sam started to say, slowly making her way towards the door.

"Wait," Freddie called out, grabbing Sam by the wrist. "Don't leave." He looked longingly at Sam. He tried to read the emotion painted on her face but couldn't quite put his finger on what she was feeling.

Sam put up her usual barriers and smirked, "Don't get ahead of yourself, Freddork."

"Listen," Freddie urged, still holding onto Sam. "I've been thinking since that night out on the fire escape."

"No, Freddie." Sam insisted, trying to release herself from Freddie's grasp. "I don't want to talk about that night?"

"Why not?" Freddie asked, keeping his grasp firm. He pulled on Sam's arm and brought her closer to him. "Because talking about the kiss means talking about your feelings? And talking about your feelings is just _so wrong_ to you?"

Sam looked away. She couldn't bear to keep eye-to-eye with Freddie. "Shut up," she mumbled. "... You don't know anything."

"I know that there is something between us. There's something going on here, Sam. Don't deny it."

"It's just a kiss, Freddie. Besides, I know you've got the hots for Cals."

"How would you know?" Freddie defended.

Sam scoffed. "You always say it! It's like you just _can't_ stop saying you love her!"  
Freddie started to get angry and let go of Sam's wrist. "So? Why do you care? You always make fun of me and rip on me all the time anyway. It's like you_ can't_ stop making fun of me!"

"So?"

A smile grew on Freddie's face as he suddenly got smug, ".. _I think-_ You only do that chiz to hide the fact that you actually have the hots for me."

"Gross." Sam uttered repulsively.

"Oh, admit it!" Freddie said, calling Sam out on her bluff.

"Well, if that's the case then you only excessively say you love Carly all the time to hide who you really have the hots for- Me."

Freddie laughed. "Oh yeah? I'll admit that the day you admit you have the hots for me." Sam just stayed silent. "God, you're stubborn, Puckett."

"Shut it, Benson. You're just as stubborn as me."

"Hmph."

The two stood opposite from one another in silence, both glaring at each other. Freddie's glare softened as he continuing staring at the blonde. Sam did the same and she shifted her gaze to the floor.

"I will admit, though..." Sam started speaking softly. Freddie perked his ears as Sam began speaking. "That night... It wasn't just a kiss for me."

"Yeah?" Freddie asked, a smile crawling back on his face.

Sam nodded as she half-smirked. "Yeah. That kiss... It was_ special_, y'know?" She looked back up at Freddie, who was slowly inching himself closer to Sam.

"Well, yeah- It _was_ each other's first kiss." Freddie shrugged, as he slowly grabbed Sam's hand.  
Sam glanced at Freddie's hand and blushed slightly, hiding a smile. "Yeah. And y'know, it was cool of you, too- To offer to kiss me; No guy at school would even give me a second glance."

"You know that's not true, Sam." Freddie responded, inching even closer to the blonde, bringing his other hand around her waist. "How do you know that there's no guys lookin' at you?"

Sam just shrugged awkwardly again, "'Cuz they're all lookin' at Carls."

Freddie smiled at Sam reassuringly. "Not me."

"Psh. Puh-leeze." Sam scoffed.

"How would you know who I'm looking at? I could be looking at you and you wouldn't know- You never really look at me."

"Oh? Well then, who're you looking at?" Sam asked playfully, almost defensively.

Freddie brushed his lips against Sam's and smiled as he saw a smile grow on her face from ear-to-ear. "You, silly. You just never notice."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Freddie replied, bringing Sam in for another passionate kiss.

* * *

**author's note: god, I haven't updated this thing in ages. well, the cheesiness still hasn't changed. in fact, i think it's gotten worse.**


	16. Leaves

**Leaves**

* * *

Sam walked down the cemented path, the autumn leaves falling. A dog ran ahead, attacking the piles of leaves.

"Nubwich, don't wander too far!" Sam called out, continuing down the cemented path. Her heels clicked as they hit the pavement. She looked up at the dying trees, their falling leaves painting the ground various fall colors.

As she walked along the path, her best friend, Carly Shay, walked through the falling leaves, up to Sam. "Hey Carls." Sam greeted rather solemnly.

"Hey, Sam." Carly greeted back. "You brought your dog?"

Sam just shrugged, looking down the path at the happy-go-lucky dog. "Yeah, I figured people are bringing their kids, so I brought Nubwich."

Carly brought Sam into her arms for a welcoming embrace. Sam returned the warm hug and smirked.

"Carls, I'm fine... Where's Spencer?"

"Parking the car."

Sam nodded in response. "Oh. Okay, good. Come with me here," Sam grabbed Carly by the wrist and led her to an empty bench, surrounded by light layer of fallen autumn leaves. The two cleared a space on the bench and sat down. Carly turned to face her best friend.

"What's up?"

Sam shook her head, "I think I might be going crazy, Carls."

"What do you mean?"

"I see him everywhere- I went to the coffee shop and I swear I saw him and he winked at me. Every time I look part these falling leaves, I see him standing from a distance, looking at me... Like he's longing for me.'

Carly grabbed her best friend by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Don't lose yourself. He's gone- He's _dead_, Sam."

Sam shook herself away from Carly's gentle grip and retreated herself, bringing her knees to her chest. "I don't want him to be gone, Carly. I don't want him to be gone."

Carly helped the broken-down Sam to her feet and walked her down the rest of the cemented path. They came to a clearing in a grassy area, where a group of people were gathered. Some looked back and saw the approaching friends. Some lowered their heads in acknowledgment, some whispering a solemn greeting.

The playful dog now obediently sit in front of his master's portrait, as if he fully understood the situation. The dog looked up at Sam and whined, as if waiting for someone. Sam gently caressed Nubwich, petting him on the head.

Sam approached the podium, ready to speak to the small crowd of people. Sam scanned through the crowd and recognized some of the people. A few classmates from school, some people from work, along with some of her long and dear friends. She saw a few more people walking down the aisle and taking their seats.

Carly left Sam up at the podium, taking her seat next to Spencer. Sam looked over at the portrait of her beloved one and sighed. She walked over the closed coffin and rested her hand on top of it. She whispered something softly to the coffin and then turned back around to face the people. She walked back to the podium and looked past the people, admiring the falling leaves.

* * *

**a/n;; sorry for the sad story... cheesiness will come back next chapter lol :P**


	17. Water

**Water**

* * *

"Uhh... I don't really want to go to the beach, Carls." Sam stated matter-of-the-factly, as she played with a Rubik's Cube on the couch. "I mean, I don't really tan all that well and y'know that being in the sand makes me feel like I'm standing in a giant litter box."

The summertime was always a good opportunity to get a few extra credits before starting the new year. Carly and Freddie both enrolled in summer school but Sam was spending her summer lazing about.

"Aww c'mon, Sam... What's summer without a little beach fun?" Carly groaned as she drew her attention away from writing in her notebook, "Spencer already said he would give us a ride and Freddie's mom OK'd him going as long as we bring extra sun-tan lotion and set up our stuff in a shaded area."

Sam just groaned. She knew how adamant Carly was by the look on her face and knew that no tantrum was big enough to sway Carly from her decision. This summer, iCarly was hitting the beach.

* * *

It was a typical Tuesday afternoon. Carly, Sam, and Freddie were all chilling in the loft as Carly starting jotting down a list of things to bring to the beach. "So I was thinking for lunch we would bring hot dogs and for snacks we could have chips..."

"What about drinks?" Freddie asked.

"Wahoo Punch and root beer." Sam immediately answered, as if the question should've been rhetorical.

Freddie nodded in agreement. "Wahoo sounds appropriate."

"Have you guys heard back from Gibby yet?" Carly asked. "I haven't seen him in a while."

Freddie pulled out his phone and scrolled through his text messages. "He texted me this morning saying he couldn't go because he needs to go to a birthday party for his grandpa."

"It's Gibby's grandpa's birthday?"

Freddie shook his head in response. "No, his grandpa is throwing the party... They're celebrating his grandpa's goat's birthday."

Carly and Sam stared at eachother for a moment. They looked back at Freddie.

"His... His goat?" The three just remained still and silent, no doubt trying to wrap their heads around how a goat birthday party would go about.

"So... beach?" Freddie spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yep- Hopefully there won't be too many people." Carly mentioned, looking up the weather forecast for tomorrow.

"Ugh..." Sam groaned, "I _really_ don't wanna go to the beach, guys..."

Freddie's ears perked up. Sam, "queen of lazy", not wanting to laze on a sandy beach? "What's your problem with the beach, Puckett?"

"... I just don't like the beach, that's all."

* * *

"_Whoo!_ Beach!" The three all stepped out of the car and and onto the sandy dunes. "Whoa, look, there's cabana umbrellas set up for shade!" They set up camp under one of the large umbrellas. The three laid out their towels under the shade. Carly's towel had a flowery blue design, Freddie's towel had Galaxy Wars spaceships, and Sam's was a purple towel with the words "I (heart) Vegas".

Spencer unloaded the large cooler from the car and set it up next to the towels. "You girls go get changed first. Me and the Fred-man can watch the stuff."

Freddie lay on his towel, exposing his little piggies to the radiant sunlight. He had his eyes closed, able to take in the sounds of the waves and laughing children. He took a deep breath in through his nose and smelled the scent of the gentle sea breeze. He exhaled and sighed contently.

"Man, this is the life."

"Hey."

Freddie opened his eyes and saw the two girls clad in their bikinis. "Wow," he said, a slight trail of drool escaping from the corner of his mouth.

"You like?" Carly teased, spinning around full-circle to show off her purple bikini.

Freddie nodded fervently, a slight smile appearing on his face, "Y-Yeah."

"How about Sam's?" Carly asked, motioning to the blonde who appeared slightly embarrassed to be in a bathing suit. Her jacket was draped over her shoulders, hiding most of her otherwise exposed skin.

"Uhm-" Freddie started to say, almost unsure what the "right" answer would be.

"Sam! Take off your jacket!" Carly complained, almost ripping the jacket off Sam and throwing it onto her towel. Sam's face quickly turned a very visible three shades of pink darker. "Well?"

Freddie looked at Sam up and down and grinned, "She looks good."

"Are you going to go change now?" Carly asked Freddie.

"Well, I'm actually already wearing my boardshorts," Freddie pointed out, standing up to show off his hibiscus-patterned shorts. He took off his T-shirt in one fluid motion, messing up his hair slightly in the process.

The two girls just stared at the boy, who seemed slightly more attractive than usual to them.

"Whoa, when did you get so buff?" Carly asked.

Freddie flexed his biceps and grinned. "You like?" he teased.

Carly just laughed, "Sure."

* * *

The three applied their suntan lotion and were sunbathing. It was fairly hot and soon the heat was getting to them.

"Jeez, it's hot," Freddie said matter-of-factly. "I'm gonna hit the water. You guys coming with?"

"Sure, I'll go." Carly said, taking off her GoGo sunglasses and standing up. "Sam?" Carly looked down at the skinny blonde who chose to remain lying down.

"... I'll just stay under the umbrella. Tell me if you guys decide to go play beach volleyball or something." Sam simply replied, grabbing her towel and curling up under the umbrella. She dug through the ice chest and found a slightly chilled Peppy Cola.

"Not going for a swim, Sam?" Spencer asked as Sam cracked open the cola and took a deep swig.

Sam shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, "Nah. The ocean's not really my scene."

Spencer eyed Sam suspiciously for a second but his unsure look was quickly replaced with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "So you'll stay here to watch the stuff?"

"Oh, go and play, you overgrown kid." Sam scoffed, putting on a fashionable pair of shades. Spencer just cheered a type of exclamation usually only heard by Baby Spencer and raced toward the big blue sea.

Sam smiled slightly as she watched her three friends playing in the ocean.

* * *

Sam sighed as she gently awoke from her peaceful slumber.

"Hey sleepyhead."

Sam's eyes jolted open as she saw a slightly wet Freddie seated on his Galaxy Wars towel. A drop of water trickled from Freddie's brow and fell off the tip of his nose.

"Carls and Spence went to play beach volleyball but you were sleeping. We thought we'd just let you sleep."

Sam stretched and yawned loudly. "What time is it?" she asked, looking up to the sun still high in the sky.

Freddie quickly checked his PearPhone. "Almost 2pm."

"Aww, I slept through lunch?"

Freddie chuckled. "Wanna go for a quick swim before eating?"

Sam shook her head and pouted. "Uhm, nah."

Freddie's head dropped a little bit, half out of disappointment and half out of surprise. "Oh c'mon Sam- You haven't gon in the water all day! Aren't you hot?"

Sam combed her fingers through her hair and noticed the bit of sweat on her brow. "I know... But still, no thanks. I'll pass."

Freddie sat still for a moment, thinking about what his next action would be.

A smile suddenly grew on his face.

"C-MON." Freddie shouted, grabbing the surprisingly light Sam and making a mad dash for the water.  
"Freddie, no!" Sam screamed, squirming to get free. When the hell did the dork get so strong?

The two hit the water, the salty seawater splashing around them. Freddie laughed as the cool water made contact and he let go of his grip on Sam. But oddly, he still felt the weight of Sam's body around his torso.

"Sam?" he questioned, as he stopped his movement. The water had settled around them but Sam still clutched to Freddie, as if for dear life.

"Hey Sam, you can let go now..."

"N-No..." Sam stuttered, only tightening her grip around Freddie.

"Sam, are you afraid of the water?" Freddie grinned slightly, a little happy to learn a new fact about Sam Puckett.

"N-No..." Sam repeated, her voice faltering a bit. She wasn't convincing anybody. "I'm not a-afraid. I just... Can't swim."

Freddie chuckled softly, holding Sam up with his strong hands. She seemed even lighter in the water. "Relax, I've got you," Freddie reassured. "Try putting your feet on the floor. We're not that far out and even someone as short as you can stand here without drowning."

"Is that a shot at my shortness?" Sam asked threateningly, slowly loosening her grip as she felt around with her feet for the sandy sea floor.

Sam stood on her own two feet, the water barely reaching up to her chest. She still felt a little scared and kept one hand around Freddie's arm, in good measure. She never knew if she might drown and need saving. Which, in her opinion, wasn't very likely (but she still wanted to be safe).

"C'mon, let's go out deeper."

"No, I think I'm cool over here," Sam replied.

"It'll be fine," Freddie reassured, "You can use me as a floatation device. Freddie started gently floating further out as Sam still kept a firm grip on him.

"Having fun yet?" Freddie asked, swimming around a bit.

Sam smiled. She had to admit that the cool water had a very nice feel and the scorching sun didn't seem so hot anymore.

"... Yeah."

* * *

_A/N: Haven't had a whole lot of time to actually type stuff out and put into real readable words. I have a hundred different ideas for stories but it's a whole 'nother thing to make the idea into a decent story... Thanks for taking the time to read.  
I appreciate all likes/reviews/favorites/follows/etc etc. :) _


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